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If your priority is cheap and convenient, I'd look into LIC. Astoria is a bit farther but cheaper. If nightlife/restaurants are more important to you, I'd go with the East Village/LES. Brooklyn is similar to LIC/Astoria, but Prospect Heights/Gowanus is far away from Midtown and Williamsburg can be a little insufferable (plus the L is awful). I'd rule out UES/UWS (too residential/stuffy for someone in their mid-20s) and Midtown (expensive). West Village is like the East Village but more expensive. The Jersey commute is less than ideal and the cost advantages are less appealing if you're just there a summer.

I don't personally think living in Manhattan is even preferable to living in Brooklyn or Astoria, even without considering the cost, but a lot of people want that experience, especially when they're just in NYC for 10 weeks. If you do, then I'd say East Village is probably your best bet.

Part of the issue with outer boroughs (particularly Brooklyn) is that craigslist and similar ads frequently stretch neighborhood definitions, so you might end up in a less fun, convenient, or safe area than advertised. If you don't have someone to help who you trust and who knows the city, it might be best to stick to Manhattan for that reason.

okinawa wrote:It's only a summer so I wouldn't bother with the longer commute from Jersey or the crazy expensive Tribeca, Chelsea, etc options. NYU student housing is fine if the dates work. If you can sublet in Astoria or LIC go for it, but don't get deep into Queens. Harlem-ish area is okay if you stick to where Columbia students live, though UWS/UES tend to be more boring.

I disagree that Brooklyn is too far of a commute, though. If you're near the Atlantic Terminal or Jay Street, you can get to midtown in 30 minutes easy, though depending on the line some people might say 40 minutes is a more consistent/conservative bet. Depends on the line--if your firm is near a B stop, you can jump on an express train near DeKalb and it's quite a short commute. Plus that area has bars, restaurants, movie theatres, and is safe to walk around.

Brooklyn v. Hoboken/Jersey City is basically an identical commute to Midtown (slightly shorter or longer depending on where in Midtown the office is/where in Brooklyn you're talking about), so this advice is a little inconsistent. That said, the tax difference is small when you're an SA--it's a much bigger deal once you're an Associate--so that reasoning alone is not enough reason otherwise.

Definitely don't waste your money on Tribeca, Soho, Chelsea or the Central/West Village. Most expensive neighborhoods in the city and totally not worth it.

paratactical wrote:If you're working in midtown, living in Brooklyn is dumb. That's a crazy long commute.

I lived in Brooklyn while working in NYC and it took 25 minutes from where I lived to Grand Central. Not particularly onerous.

That has got to be an optimal timing and not actually include walking to/from the subway or waiting for a train.

That was consistent door to door. Granted I worked across the street from Grand Central. But during rush hour things worked well toward getting there in a timely fashion. Off-hours, yea, the trip would probably be longer because of less train traffic. My only point is it is doable from certain areas of Brooklyn. Other areas of Brooklyn will be unreasonable but if you live on the first couple stops in, it can be like coming from certain points in Manhattan.

Since it's just for your SA, either live in the NYU dorms or one of the other housing temporary housing options available that have been discussed (or try to find a CLS/NYU/Fordham/etc. student that is subletting). Don't worry too much about the location until you're an actual associate, since it's not that easy to find a sublet wherever you want.

it depends where in harlem. harlem is huge. also the east side of harlem isn't that nice. the west side is fine and also has a planet fitness. imo it's worth the extra 100/month to do low 100s on the west side between the two. it's a much more convenient place to live.